Car-step



(No Model.)

P. H. STANWOOD. GAR STEP.

No. 476,323. Patented June 7, 1892.

if/MMM@ ZZILZ? 7'71 @ya UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK H. STANl/VOOD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-STEP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of' Letters Patent No. 476,323, dated June'7, 1892. Application tiled September 12, 18914. Serial No. 405.457. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. STANwooD, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and usefulV Improvement in Car-Steps, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve ments in the class ofcar-steps the tread whereof is formed of reticulated or open work, suchas is shown in Letters Patent to me No. 382,331, dated May 8, 1888, No.385,017, dated June 2G, 1888, and No. 392,891, dated November 13, 1888.i

A prime object in constructing the treads of steps of this open-work isto adapt the steps to prevent any slipping of the foot upon them, sothat persons getting on and oit the cars will not be liable to injuryfrom this cause. A suitable surrounding frame is, however, a necessity,inasmuch as the open-work or tread portion must be provided with asupport at all sides, and the front rail of this frame is located whereit must receive pressure from the feet of passengers. Being constructedof metal, the front rail soon becomes smooth under the wear to which itis subjected in use, so that passengers frequently slip when theirweight is resting upon it. To obviate this evil pertaining to theordinary construction of the front rail is one object held in view in mypresent invention, and this object I accomplish by lowering the frontrail, so that it lies in a lower plane than the open-work of the treadand so that any person placing his foot upon the step necessarily treadsupon the open-work rather than upon the rail. Of course the necessarymetal for strength can be used in the rail by locating the major portionof it below the plane of the tread, and I find it desirable also tobevel oif the front portion of the open-work, so that at the extremeedge the open-work will nearly meet or be about flush with the upperedge of the rail.

To prevent people carrying canes and umbrellas from accidentallyinserting the same in the meshes of the tread, Ipartially obstruct themeshes by interwoven strips of metal, substantially as hereinafterdescribed, such strips being adapted to allow the dirt and snow upon thepassengers feet to fall through the meshes while they so cover the areaof the meshes as to prevent the entrance therein of the points of canesand umbrellas.

The nature of my invention will be better understood from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is apartial View in perspective of .of which the tread of the step iscomposed,

and Fig. 5 is a like View of the interwoven strip for partially closingthe meshes of the step.

In said drawings, A represents one of the hangers of the car-step,B thefront rail of the frame, and C the rear or back rail thereof. The bodyof the step is made up substantially in the manner set forth in myPatent No. 392,891, being composed of bent dat metal strips D and theangles provided with interlocking nibs d, substantially as described insaid patent. Cross-rods E are also provided at intervals for stieningand tying together the structure. The front rail B, it will'be noticed,is lowered so that its upper edge lies considerably below the upperplane of the tread, the

object of this feature being to prevent passengers from placing theirweight upon the rail. This construction insures the placing of the footupon the open work of the tread, which is adapted to obviate slipping,and thus prevent accidents to the passengers. The front edge of theopen-work may be, and preferably is, beveled off, as shown at ct.

The other feature of the invention-namely, the guarding against theinsertion in the meshes of the tread of the points of umbrellas, &c.-Iobtain by means of the bent and interwoven strip F. This strip at theportions thereof which are placed in the meshes of the tread is bent toan S-form, preferably as shown at f, and these portions are alsopreferably narrower than the strips D, in order that they may not serveto retain the dirt and snow which may be dislodged from the feet of thepassengers. Those portions which lie between the abutting angles of thestrips D arc,however,of the same width as said strips D, as shown at g,and the portions g are also prt-vided with the interlocking nibs h,corre- IOO sponding to those of strip D, so that when placed alternatelyin the step with strips D there may be a uniform interlocking at eachjunction of said strips D and F. The wide portions g prevent anytendency to rook upon the part of strips F and hold them securely inplace. The S-form of bend, while it effectu` ally guards against theentrance within the mesh of umbrella-tips, yet leaves openings ofsufficient area to permit the discharge of snow and dirt. The upper edgeof strip F may also lie flush with the upper surface of the tread andaid in some degree in preventing slipping.

I claim- 1. The open-work or reticulated step having a front raillocated in a plane below that of the tread, whereby the passenger iscompelled to place his foot upon a portion of the tread adapted toprevent sli pping, substantially as set forth.

2. The Open-work or reticulated step havinga front rail located in aplane below that of the tread and having its front portion beveled off,substantially as specified.

3. The open-work or reticulated step having its meshes guarded by aninterwoven strip F, having narrow portion f and wideA portion g,substantially as set forth.

4. The open-work or reticulated step the tread whereof is composed ofbent strips D, placed with their angles abutting and interlocked, andguard-strips F, placed between and interlocked with said strips D,substantially as set forth.

5. The open-work or recticulated step consisting of strips D andguard-strips F and provided with a front rail B, located below thesurface of the tread, substantially as set forth.

FRANK H. STANWOOD.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, Law. E. CURTIs.

